Kaya had come to realize something troubling: she didn't recognize most of the fruits or edible plants in this forest. Everything either looked poisonous, too colorful to trust, or had spikes. The kind that whispered eat me and die painfully.
All this walking, searching, and foraging was draining her energy fast. For a moment, she even considered hunting—maybe a rabbit or a squirrel. Something small and fast.
But then her gaze drifted to Cutie.
Specifically, his ears.
Long. Soft. Twitchy.
Rabbit ears.
The image that popped into her head was so vivid it made her freeze—her, skinning a rabbit, setting it over the fire... and suddenly watching it morph mid-roast into a horrified man with half-charred fur and betrayal in his eyes.
She blinked that thought away with a shudder.
Nope. Not doing that.
